Abstract

Chaperones have long been recognised for their essential roles in the cell. They are involved in the refolding or degradation of misfolded proteins as well as the correct folding of newly synthesised proteins. However recent experiments have discovered that chaperones also have an important role to play in the propagation and maintenance of prions in yeast. The following minireview focuses on the Hsp70 chaperone family and its involvement in the propagation of yeast prions.